The Nationals more than held their own against Roy Halladay yesterday, and that still wasn't enough to win. So tonight, they'll have to both hold their own against Cliff Lee, and hope they hold down the Phillies themselves to pull off a victory and snap their three-game losing streak.

Lee last faced the Nationals on April 14, and the result wasn't pretty: He tossed a three-hit shutout, striking out 12 in the process. Five members of the Nats' lineup from that game are in the lineup tonight: Danny Espinosa, Ian Desmond, Jerry Hairston, Jayson Werth and Michael Morse. The new additions tonight: Ivan Rodriguez, Roger Bernadina and Brian Bixler (who has become the de facto left fielder against lefties).

Jason Marquis, who got rocked by the Phillies at Citzens Bank Park earlier this month, starts for the Nationals. The right-hander is seeking his first win in three outings.

I don't mean to be negative and I don't think it's a condemnation of the entire organization that it first appears to be. But I can't believe that our starting left fielder- a position that most teams use to "hide" their most productive bats- is Brian Bixler.With that said, go get 'em Nats. Cliff Lee is not invincible. On September 9, 2009, his last appearance in Nats Park before this year, an even more punchless Nats lineup got to him for 10 hits and 4 runs in 7 innings. Interesting note- not one player who was in the lineup that day is on the 25 man roster.

Marquis is the lone offensive bright spot 5-9. Coach Morris Buttermaker: Come on, fellas. Rome wasn't built in a day. Ogilvie: Yeah, it took several hundred years. Well, we're facing the Phillies tonight, and you know what that means for the Phillies?BAD NEWS FOR THE PHILLIES!

Bowdenball wrote:Interesting note- not one player who was in the lineup that day is on the 25 man roster.So, Zimmerman on the DL now — surely we had Tyler Clippard then? But come to think of it it — that's sort of amazing. Go Nats! SMACK those balls Cliff Lee sends your way!

Interesting tidbit: 1) No. 1 overall player in all of AAA – Justin Maxwell; Marrero is top Nat at no. 38. 2) No. 2 overall pitcher in AAA – Tom Milone; 2nd only to Alex Cobb of the Rays. Ross Detwiler has actually been ridiculously unlucky. His BABIP is .400; league average is .320.

JaneB You are correct – not only was Clippard on the roster, he was the losing pitcher in a 6-5 game where the bullpen couldn't hold onto the lead. Let's hope that's not a predictor of tonight's outcome.

My guess – no matter how many runs we score tonight — the Phillies will eke out one more than that. A weak single will fall in for them, a ground ball will find a hole, one of our fielders will mysteriously lose a ball in the lights. Expect it.

JD – If anyone could help Justin Maxwell with his swing it is Kevin Long. Now lets see if JMax gets back to the bigs if he can keep those same type of AAA numbers. Note that he was also raking in Syracuse each time he was there.

2009 was the year I had to leave the stadium or turn off the tv i the seventh (if not sooner) because the bull pen would blow up so regularly. At least we don't have THAT anymore. I still believe in this BP, overall, even if we have not much good stuff from the left these days.Go NATS! That guy will be pitching to you like it's pasta BATTING PRACTICE!

I'm not that impressed with Ankiel, but people need to stop talking about Bernie like he's Curtis Granderson or something. Ankiel's numbers don't look good this year, but he's also suffering from an atrocious BABIP (.253 vs .290 career), suggesting that his BA will come up as his luck evens out. Ankiel's 2010 numbers were comparable to Bernie's, which weren't that hot: 2010 #sAnkiel – .232/.321/.389Bernie – .246/.307/.384On the basis of defense, Ankiel actually comes out with a higher WAR than Bernie so far this season, tho neither is anything to shout about: 0.3 for Ankiel, -0.2 for Bernie.There are reasons to play Bernie. He's a better base stealer, and is certainly better suited to the lead off slot; he has a chance to be part of the team's future, so they might as well see what they have. If you want to make that last argument, of course, you have to be prepared for the "this ain't a development league" comeback. Either way, don't pretend there's a night and day difference between what Bernie and Ankiel can offer the Nats this year.

The Baseball Guy said… Anonymous8-Bernadina actually gets on base a decent amount, as opposed to Ankiel, who seemingly flies out on the first pitch of almost every at-bat. __________________________Sorry was trying to be facetious as Bernadina gets the LH Cliff Lee vs the RH Halladay. Neither are great but if I am a LH batter, I choose Halladay.

I'm not going to the game tonight so there's a good chance the Nats will put it to Cliff Lee. Last game I missed Marquis outpitched Lincecum and we beat the Giants.I was at that 2009 game Bowdenball mentioned and remember it well. JMax led off and got 3 hits. I wouldn't call that line-up punchless as it included Zimmerman, Dunn, Willingham and Guzman.I'll go along with Nats 3 Phillies 2 with Bixler scoring the winning run from 3rd on a Matt Stairs ground-rule double.

I love Danny, in a non-gay way. I mean I loved him when he came up last September and loving him right now as our everyday 2B. I read Boswell's article. Not sure whether he is right about all BABIP talk or not but this guy looks special every time I check him out.

@ FS,So you love Danny in a non-happy way? I there such a thing as unhappy love?Seriously though, there really isn't any room here on the blog for any kind of "bashing", so please think before you post.

Why is it when Carp makes an observation that is immediately refuted on the field, it's so annoying, but when Charlie and Dave do the same thing on the air, it's hilarious. They were in the midst of seriously doubting Espi's power and RBI production pace when he drilled that no-doubter to the RP. The "well, then again…" observations that followed cracked me up.But seriously, Espi for ROY! Go Nats!

Hmm, okay maybe not Storen maybe rookie Espinosa to the All Star game?Oh I guess Boz was wrong looks like maybe Rizzo did replace Adam Dunn? With the guy you just wrote about. Just that Riggleman bats him in the wrong slot in the batting order. Adam Dunn 203PA/166BA .181 10 doubles 0 triples, 5 HR 23 RBIDanny Espinosa 210PA/179AB .245 6 doubles, 4 triples, 10 HR 32 RBIAnd Espy is a superlative fielder who can steal bases!Boy just after Boz's article on him what timing? Yep, he's going to be a big star.

TimDz – the naval air horn is actually called a Klaxon and they are on submarines. Brings back a lot of memories of my navy days. Since Nats Park is right near the navy yard, it seems fitting.They could have also used something else since the Park is close to Blue Plains. Given the way they've played since 2005 due mostly to the Lerner's frugality it may have been more apropos.

Anon 9:17, I know you're just being negative and clever, because that's what anonymous posters do. But given the team's actual location near the Navy Yard and DC's obvious military connections, I like the change. The fact that the three bursts are the signal for the sub to "power up" and make a rapid ascent to surface in an emergency.

The klaxon is the alert signal – you hear it on old movies along with "dive, dive, dive" – I always feel like I need to run to my battle station when I hear it! I wonder if there are other old bubbleheads out there who feel themselves responding to the alarm?

Really enjoyed that 3-6-1 double play (how many of those has the official scorer recorded?). Morse continues to prove impressive at 1B — and, of course, at bat. Praise to all for a well-played game (so far).

I know you're just being negative and clever, because that's what anonymous posters do.Dude if you think I'm clever and negative read Boz's chat today … I'm willing to bet real money its why the Nats bats woke up tonight. We need to get the damned "small brain, smart ball" out of them and light the fire in their belly for some power alley action. To heck with Riggleman's strategies! Moar Espinosa batting fifth or fourth Nats RBI king and ROY.

You are neither…But Boz might be … I think the invasion of the Phillie Phans made the old-time DC native extra feisty. I like it … and it appears to have awoken the Nats offense at least for one night.

Unless I'm mistaken, every starter including the SP has at least one hit. The hitting looks like it is starting to warm up. I'm not a Morse fan, but he ought to be getting all of the PT at 1B for the forseeable future. The Phillies came to town, and we got better. You can't make this up.

Yeah, really brilliant: the Nats' bats woke up because the players read Boz's chat. Brilliant.Perhaps not dude. But bet ya a C-note NatsPR straight away and clued in Riggleman and Rizzo. Have to think Riggleman said something to this team before the game … but then again …

Old Tar – I'm a bubblehead too – four tours on the boats and still on active duty. Every time I hear it I get chills (or as Chris Matthews would say, a tingle runs up my leg). Plus it means something good just happened!

The Boz article re Espinoza's unusually low BABIP and the mention of same above for Rick Ankiel has me wondering whether this stat, though interesting, can be misleading. For example, a guy who hits a lot of flyballs and pop-ups would have a low BABIP, period, vs. a line-drive hitter. Ankiel vs. Espinoza. So we'd have to ask what kind of a hitter a guy was before the stat becomes meaningful, right? Boz used it like it's useful without further analysis, which could render the stat not all that useful.

Went to my first game since the Giants. Shocked that if you listen to the radio you hear fireworks like we are use to.But the real fireworks are gone, supposedly according to Phil Wood the neighborhood complained and forced the Nats to stop the fireworks, thus we have the submarine call. But what bothers me is the "fake" fireworks on the radio, sorry that is a all time low and makes me mistrust the good folks that put in fake effects.Sorry, wonder if anyone else is miffed over this?Great game tonight, wish the Nats could package what this did tonightOn the All-star game, yes Espinosa looks like a good choice, but if Morse continues his hot bat he could be the guy.Just some thoughts

Richard, you're probably gone, but here it is. You are absolutely right about one thing: Boswell did try to get BABIP to say a little more than it really says. But only a little.His main point was true: for almost any hitter, guessing "about .300" will get you in the neighborhood. As you add more information — the guy's speed, how many line drives he hits, and his historical BABIP — you can refine your guess. But an extreme number like .209 or .413 is just very, very unlikely to hold up. (Of course, one reason the .209 doesn't hold up is that the guy eventually gets cut. That's one potential pitfall in this kind of analysis. Selection bias at work!)Going even further, there's actually something called expected BABIP (xBABIP): punch in a guy's line drives and speed, and I forget what-all else, and it spits out what the BABIP should be. Crazy.Like any predictive stat, BABIP analysis is going to miss on some guys. But it's useful as an indicator of what's probable.